Biodiesel continues to prove it is the most star-powered of renewable fuels.
Singer/song writer Melissa Etheridge is the latest star to show her support for biodiesel, appearing Tuesday at the National Biodiesel Conference in San Francisco. The artist shared an inspirational story of how her battle with breast cancer led her to want to make a difference in the world and how that in turn led her to start using biodiesel.
Etheridge started using biodiesel after a chance meeting with Willie Nelson on a plane a few years ago which inspired her to use biodiesel in all of her tour buses and trucks, as well as in her own personal vehicle, a Ford diesel Excursion that she fills with biodiesel in her own garage.
Her vehicle is covered with biodiesel stickers and she has become a one-on-one advocate for the fuel in her own personal life. “Any diesel engine can run on biodiesel,” she emphasizes. “When it finally sunk in to me that the diesel engine was meant to run on peanut oil or vegetable oil, I realized that all of the troubles that we are having now with the petroleum industry could be avoided.”
For her efforts and enthusiasm, Etheridge received this year’s Influence award from the National Biodiesel Board, presented to her by NBB CEO Joe Jobe and Daryl Hannah.
Listen to her comments at the conference here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/nbb/nbb-09-melissa-1.mp3]
Get full coverage of the 2009 National Biodiesel Conference here.